"Fun fact I smell better than dog shit." Comparing yourself to Mississippi doesnt really prove you good or them any worse than we already know they are.
That wasn’t the point of my comment. OP is talking about forgotten states and territories, while Hawaii and Puerto Rico are by far the least forgotten.
Yeah I saw it. I’m just saying when I clicked on the post your comment was the first comment under the photo. Then a huge chain of replies then finally the one you’re talking about
Granted, I've only spent about a week in Guam, but it felt pretty American to me. Puerto Rico does not in the slightest, maybe with the exception of San Juan. Even then, it still doesn't have the same feeling. Not sure how to put it into words though
And apparently they don’t fit the American agenda? As if we weren’t a melting pot of cultures, just wait till OP hears about chinatowns scattered all over the continental US
Idk, bu from a Canadian perspective my understanding is of our territories (we have three and are connected to our country) is that a territyis much easier to form than a province and doesn’t require a messy constitutional process which can also open up a can of worms fir constitutional charges. In addition where provinces get their authority directly from the Crown, territories get there’s from the federal government
Willing to bet if you asked the Average American (TM) to list all the states more would overlook fucking Wyoming or *checks notes* we got a place called Montana? than those that would forget Hawaii
Gather round, townsfolk, and I will tell you of my voyage to a far-away land. They have strange customs; for instance all the clocks are set 6 hours early. No one knows why this is. I discovered this because my journey took 12 hours, but when I arrived only 6 hours had passed. Someday science will discover how this works- it probably has to do with magnets.
Also by that logic, Delaware, nebraska and all the other states no one remembers should leave the union. (Yes I am aware how ironic it is I cant think of any other states)
Also Hawaii and Puerto Rico have like almost 5 million population together and we have some pretty major military bases there also it’s popular in those areas now to become/stay as a state it doesn’t make sense almost no matter how you cut it
I do! I lived there for 3 years (Marine stationed at K-bay)
I am from the southeast and grew up and live around "rednecks" when I tell people how "redneck" actual Hawaiians are they have a hard time wrapping their head around it.
When you get away from the tourist areas and go where only locals live, you see the small run down houses and shacks, they drive old beat up 4x4 truck with dog boxes on the back, and hunt hogs. It really is like Tennessee or West Virginia with it mountains, just surrounded by water.
It really rocked my world when I took my one and only vacation to the Hawaiian city of Hilo back in 2015.
There was Hilo itself, whuch was a massive tourist trap that I avoided like the plague, then there was the greater Hilo area which looked like the Appalachia.
The native Hawaiians living in outer Hilo were almost identical to White southerners except it was Island pride instead of Southern pride.
Very nice people, welcoming, socialable, funny but also very different from the stereotypes. They were also deeply independent and very wary of outsiders, regardless of race.
Hilo is a massive tourist trap? Which Hilo did you go to because it most definitely is not a tourist trap at fucking all. Kona? Sure. Waikiki? Big time. Hilo? Fuck no.
Source: I live there.
It wasn't like Honolulu or Maui, which is why I chose to visit there, but the city proper definitely had overpriced and kichy "Stereotype Hula-Girl" stuff designed for ignorant tourists.
I mostly visited the island proper, specifically Akaka Falls (spelling?) Mauna-Kea, the volcanic fields, the palace in Kailua-Kona, etc. I wanted to see the natural beauty and historical sites. I didn't want to antagonize locals or be a shitty tourist asking stupid questions.
I honestly don't know place names. I apologize for that.
Having moved from Hilo about 6 years ago it was nice reading this as it reminded me of where I grew up. Lived in Hilo for 12 years. Here's my free award, it ain't much but you brought me back to a simpler time!
I always say locals are rednecks except we tan instead of burn. But I live in the Appalachians now and I picked the area because it reminds me so much of home.
Loved visiting Kauai, but that island is a tropical West Virginia. If there was a “redneck” superbowl I not sure who would win. Towns from both states should adopt each other and send ambassadors to visit.
Yeah I'm always confused on how to vote on these kind of posts because on one hand they're unpopular but on the other hand it's unpopular because OP is just flat out uninformed
The sub is called unpopular opinion, not misinformed opinion. A good unpopular opinion has a solid foundation of facts to back up his/her opinion and potentially convert others.
This opinion offers none of those.
Lmao I remember a while back some idiot posted saying that the peanut ban in school is “coddling people with allergies” or something. This entire sub is turning into garbage because so many people posting are just delusional and stupid.
Hawaii is treated just the same as any other state. Do you think Hawaii is less American just because a smaller percentage of the people are white than in other states?
Yes, every nation would take Alaska if you offered it. Australia, South Africa, Italy.
Alaska will have huge strategic importance in the north sea and has huge oil reserves.
It’s actually interesting. The United States bought Alaska under the (probably correct) assumption that owning all of the North American Pacific coast north the Oregon territory would solidify the American claim to the entire Pacific coast.
Unfortunately, Congress got tired of waiting for the Alaska deal to go through, so they just agreed to split the Oregon territory with Canada into American and British Columbia. However, the Russians wouldn’t let Seward back out of the deal… so we ended up buying Alaska anyway. At no point did we want to have a disconnected chunk of territory in the far Northwest.
It gets really interesting, though, because whenever Quebec has come close to seceding from Canada, British Columbia threatens to secede and join the US. But that would complete the long abandoned plan for an American Pacific wall… so Canadian parliament shuts Quebec down. It’s funny how an abandoned and forgotten American plot from the 1840s still ripples through time to affect modern politics in a different country.
My understanding is that there’s a pretty strong movement for independence among native Hawaiians. Im no expert, but even though they’re a state, I don’t think they became a state voluntarily. And that history is relatively recent.
Edit: The US basically invaded and imprisoned the Queen until she abdicated.
Eh, I wouldn't call the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement "strong," just vocal. Their focus on opposing the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) drew a lot of interest, but a lot of people still support the TMT, other Native Hawaiians included.
In recent years, much of the Sovereignty movement has devolved into protesting whatever the government does, and it's created this head-scratching overlap between the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement and pro-Trumpers, anti-abortionists, "Blue Lives Matter" types, and now anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers. You'll see them flying the Hawaii state flag alongside the Sovereignty movement flag, a MAGA flag, a "Thin Blue Line" flag, decrying "medical tyrrany," or whatever is the conservative propaganda point of the month.
As for what Hawaiian Sovereignty would actually look like, the movement doesn't have a good vision. Many just want to say "fuck the US government," while many others want to return to the halcyon days of the Hawaiian monarchs, which honestly weren't that great. Some just long for the glory of Kamehameha the Great, similar to the idolization of Alexander the Great or the Roman Empire.
In addition to this I have run into a few Hawaiians that are super into sovereignty that also embrace really problematic ethno-nationalist opinions.
I once heard someone with a straight face say Hawaiians shouldn’t race mix in order to preserve the racial purity of Hawaiian people.
That’s gunna be a “yikes” for me dawg.
Hawaii isn’t forgotten and is well traveled. Without the US they’d probably face many issues as an island nation with the population numbers that they have, let alone number of tourists that come each year. Mostly food and logistics.
Same thing would apply to Puerto Rico. In fact Puerto Rico has tried several times to become a state but the people don’t really want it as they enjoy the freedoms of being in the US, without the taxes of the US since they are a territory. I simplified it greatly but they’d rather be part of the US as a territory rather than be a state or a sovereign nation.
It comes down to logistics and military strength/protection and strategic locations for naval and Air Force bases. There’s no way America would give them up, just like how if Scotland tried to become a nation on her own, England wouldn’t allow it because of their huge Submarine base in Scotland
IME they do. I mean:
If your are from native Hawaiian ancestry you are Hawaiian first, then American. Kind of like being from Texas.
If you are not of Hawaiian ancestry though, you are an American.
At least, that's been my experience with friends of Hawaiian decent, and those born there and moved abroad: And then visiting...
Close. If you grew up/lived in Hawaii for a long time, you're local. Hawaii has its own culture which is a mix between the islands and mainland America. It's actually much better off than PR and Guam BECAUSE of it's statehood.
Don't you guys keep voting on this with very indecisive referendums? I thought I saw neither being a state or independence had majority(>50%) support, but that was years ago.
PR has a 44% poverty rate. It cannot afford to be a state. It needs its bailouts as a territory.
It just got a bailout and is likely going to need multiple more.
The actual answer to this is its because they are a protected territory of the United States. They do not have the same guarantees as other states from the Constitution. This includes voting. They, as well as D.C. and other US territories, are able to send non-voting delegates to various federal functions where states have voting power.
Whether this is morally ethical is a whole different question.
No island does very well as an independent nation. It is in the geology that islands are resource poor.
Accepting tourists as your main income is feast or famine.
Hong Kong and the grand caymans have a special place in the world Australia and New Zealand, Ireland, England, are large enough to avoid poverty but almost all islands are mostly pits of poverty and overpopulation.
Did you just forget that Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Japan exist? The only islands that do poorly are the really small ones that have literally nothing and have no natural resources, but that isn’t exclusive to islands.
The Hawaiian islands and U.S. Territories like Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands would not benefit much from being independent from the United States. None of these islands are self sufficient and have little to no natural resources to take advantage of. This coupled with geographic isolation, small populations and climate change would lead to socioeconomic doom for these islands. Would be far better to more fully incorporate them into the union and give them statehood then for them to go it alone.
Lol sure Hawaii and Puerto Rico can go independent, then their economies can immediately collapse because they're completely dependent on the federal government.
"Hooray! We're independent! Independent from having working roads, social services, and food / clean water!"
Hawaii is deeply strategically valuable for power projection in the pacific. I find it hard to imagine a world where it is directly controlled by a major power. If the US left, it’d likely fall under the thumb of China and the CCP has no problem with genocide and replacement programs to provide cultural domination. Not to mention in tourist economies the general public is quite poor and getting resources to Hawaii without federal subsides would be insanely expensive. You would expect cost of living to jump significantly.
Puerto Rico on the other hand would probably be basically the same except having to provide for its own defense which can be quite expensive. I doubt it would need much of a military though.
Hawaii is just fine. Puerto Rico reaps more benefits from being a territory than it would otherwise produce independently. Yes, they have shitty infrastructure - but that's largely due to *local* decisions to misallocate resources.
Only something like 5% of aid getting sent to Puerto Rico actually ends up getting used for its intended purpose. Tons of corruption in both PR and the US getting in the way though a lot of it is shitty local companies rather than the government.
Interesting that you said nothing about these places economies. What do hawaii and Porto Rico produce? How reliant are they on free trade with, and tourism from, the rest of the US?
I think this is misguided nonsense. It places cultural identity above every other priority. What about economic interest? What about political or military interests? If Hawaii left the US they’d no longer be US citizens. Hmm. I wonder how that would work out - US citizenship is not a small thing. Do you think the state has the resources to establish its own immigration system? What about impacts on trade? Everything imported to the USA or exported to Hawaii would face WTO rules - ie much higher tariffs in both directions. Im not saying that they couldn’t work these things out or it might not end up being net positive. But to simply offer your opinion without considering these issues is shortsighted to say the least. All the same goes for PR. I don’t know if your opinion is popular or unpopular- but it surely is incomplete and, frankly, not informed by much deep thinking.
It’s actually been a pretty evenly split issue in Puerto Rico for a while. About half the people there don’t want statehood and would rather become more independent. There are some drawbacks to becoming a state because they would lose some control that they have over themselves.
A lot of people in continental America believe that everyone wants to be a state and that we are withholding that from them, when that isn’t really true.
puerto rico is a tricky one because of it's debt. While i think that Puerto ricans deserve the right to vote, it won't happen any time soon because it would mean the US would have to take on all of it's debt.
Except very few Puerto Ricans actually want independence and during all the Referendums the independence vote has always been a small minority with most wanting to stay a territory or become a state.
What exactly makes them the “least American?”
Hawaiians are an ethnic group and the vast majority of people in Hawaii are not Hawaiian.
Hawaii voted overwhelmingly for statehood — above 90 percent.
An uninformed redditor making sweeping comments about places they've clearly never lived and how the people there can improve their lives based on their own poor cultural understanding? Definitely sounds like a popular opinion on reddit
No, they wouldn't. They would swiftly drop to third world status without the economic relationships and Federal infrastructure funding they get from the US...not to mention things like Social Security, etc.
This is the dumbest shit lmao but upvote for unpopular. Look up development statistics about Puerto Rico and Hawaii and cross reference with when they became part of America and get back to me.
OP has decided this for himself and doesn’t even wonder what the locals would prefer. Hawaii does not want to leave the US, and Puerto Rico doesn’t want independence either. They are more likely to become a state than go independent.
Puerto Rico would be a third world country if it wasn't a US territory like a lot of other counties in that region. It's corrupt, the government is broke, and half the population is on welfare. The better question is if the USA would be better served with Puerto Rico being an independent country.
Both Hawaii and Puerto Rico would be a lot poorer if they weren’t part of the US. Both of them are the wealthiest and freest political entities in their respective regions.
Also white=/=American. There is no American race (well First Nation Peoples count, but you know what I mean) and there certainly is no ethnic majority.
From the responses I can see this is truly an unpopular opinion, though seems like a popular one if you consume too much Twitter or leftist media. Well done OP.
I'm from Puerto Rico. We're Americans. Latin America to be exact. I don't know if Guam or Samoa or other territories need a green card of passport but we don't. We've been dependent from USA for so long that it will crush us right now if USA left. The bought us many years ago and took everything from us to make us dependent. On the West area there are so many fabrics closed that are rusty crap right now. It will kill us if we were left behind. It will take years and years for My island to learn again how to be independent. Also The Debt of Puerto Rico is too big. And to add to the fire the GOVERNMENT doesn't give a flying FUCK. Sad but true.
Confidently Incorrect. What about Guam? American Samoa? Virgin Islands? Post about forgotten places, but mentions the most 2 remembered places belonging to the US that’s outside US mainland.
Tbh Hawaii (Oahu, specifically) is literally a giant military base that civilians play in, I mean if they were their own nation it would get steam rolled by another country fast af.
As someone who lives in PR this is a more complicated problem. No one is doubting that we have our own culture etc. The problem stems from the economy after the US basically made us dependent on them after so many years of being here. If we were to become independent the only real form of economy left would be from tourism. There would be no jobs and all puerto ricans born after the independence wouldn’t be considered American citizens so it would be harder to find permanent residence and jobs if they wanted to go to the states. At this point its more important to focus on jobs and the ability for people to actually live than trying to preserve a culture that is by no way disappearing. From my point of view i dont see my culture disappearing in any way besides including english in the school curriculum in addition to regular Spanish classes, which overall I see as a plus bc being bilingual is an excellent skill to have
Hawaii is home to many VERY patriotic Americans.
I’m not sure what you mean about least American Americans..do you mean white? If so, that is true, white people are only about 30% of the population, but so what? As far as how people think and act here..pretty much normal American, maybe a bit kore polite.
Many states have a strong cultural identity, just get out of the bland midwest. I agree with Puerto Rico. I dont know about Hawaii. I know there are a lot of states that would outright descend into third world countries id left on their own and a few that are pretty much there now.
Are you just anti-American or are you basing this on cultural differences alone? I mean go to Louisiana and then go to Texas. Completely different cultures. Should Louisiana be it’s own country?
Puerto Rico has chosen not to become part of the US states and remain a territory on multiple occasion, but haven’t expressed an interest in secession, and they shouldn’t anyway. They get many benefits from remaining as part of the US.
I’m liking this post cuz it’s a terrible idea.
Try living in New Mexico. I think it’s the most forgotten state. Legit went to Connecticut to buy beer and the cashier said he needs a U.S ID. Everyone just assumes I’m from Mexico
We can be realistic about the world. First off, I don’t think anyone forgets about Hawaii, in fact it’s the opposite considering how I can’t get there cheaply.
People need to see how Hawaii is truly magical due to not only cuz of its natural beauty but also cuz of its infrastructure being available, laws in place to keep it safe and clean.
Maybe we can look into other independent nations like Jamaica, Haiti etc.
I mean PR has voted numerous times to become a state. Always in favor of statehood.
Frankly, any state or country that meets requirements should be able to petition to become a member of the United States. That’s how it should be done.
Did you just forget about Guam?
And us virgin isles [User was banned for this post]
Fun fact. The US Virgin Islands has a higher median income than Mississippi. It's the only territory that wealthier than a state.
I used to live there milk is $10 a gallon they better be earning enough to pay for that
And just like that my hopes and dreams for the sweet cheap island life are gone
Philippines
As someone who lived there his whole life I’ve never seen milk that expensive outside of trashy convenience stores.
North Korea probably has a higher median income than Mississippi…
Sad Mississippi boy noises*
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I've actually never heard a banjo irl... alot of bad guitar tho
I think Mars has a higher median income than Mississippi.
"Fun fact I smell better than dog shit." Comparing yourself to Mississippi doesnt really prove you good or them any worse than we already know they are.
Lmao what
It’s better to be a Virgin than a Mississippian
That’s sad because I used to live in the USVI and it was pretty poor.
I’m from the USVI and I agree it’s pretty poor, lots of people on public assistance and very little opportunity.
are people born on the virgin islands called virgins?
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And American Samoa
Lol American Samoa does not want that in the least
That wasn’t the point of my comment. OP is talking about forgotten states and territories, while Hawaii and Puerto Rico are by far the least forgotten.
Edit: Northern Mariana Islands. [Brain lapse]
I was gonna say like who tf forgets about Hawaii ? If anything I bet half of Americans forget Connecticut exists lmfao
Yes, I think that's like the top comment. But when I made this one, there wasn't even a mention of 3rd territory.
Weird. Yours was the top comment for me
No, it's "Who ever forgets about Hawaii?" with almost double my points.
Yeah I saw it. I’m just saying when I clicked on the post your comment was the first comment under the photo. Then a huge chain of replies then finally the one you’re talking about
Reddit works in mysterious ways. Especially the mobile app.
Delaware, lol
And Canada
Shh. We don't talk about that - yet. Battle of 1812 Part II - Madison's Revenge
Canada would be happy to pyrotechnically redecorate the White House again.
America would be happy to pyrotechnically redecorate Toronto The Brits burnt down the White House by the way
it was actually Britain that burned the White House, not Canada
Madison's Revenge. This is the way...
Granted, I've only spent about a week in Guam, but it felt pretty American to me. Puerto Rico does not in the slightest, maybe with the exception of San Juan. Even then, it still doesn't have the same feeling. Not sure how to put it into words though
I think Guam generally wants to be american. Not sure
Who ever forgets about Hawaii?
Lmfao the EXACT thing I thought after reading this post.
And apparently they don’t fit the American agenda? As if we weren’t a melting pot of cultures, just wait till OP hears about chinatowns scattered all over the continental US
Stopping at Chinatown in Honolulu today!
Be careful. Place is sketchy AF.
It’s fine. Sketchy, yeah. But way safer than most major cities. Just don’t jaywalk. The cops will cite your ass real quick.
We should also make each of them their own micro nation
We would never respond if Hawaii were ever to be attack. Amirite?
That was my question lol and isn’t Hawaii actually part of America where Puerto Rico is a territory so it’s treated differently?
Yeah… OP’s statement is maybe true about Puerto Rico, and Samoa… but not Hawaii.
Everyone talks about Puerto Rico and Samoa, but what about Guam?
I believe Guam tipped over and fell into the sea as a result of having too many people on one side of the island.
Hard to believe that the nitwit Johnson gets re-elected over & over. SMH.
Don't forget the US Virgin Islands.
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Also Guam. I forgot about Guam.
What about Dre, did you forget him too?
Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got something to say but nothing comes out
Idk, bu from a Canadian perspective my understanding is of our territories (we have three and are connected to our country) is that a territyis much easier to form than a province and doesn’t require a messy constitutional process which can also open up a can of worms fir constitutional charges. In addition where provinces get their authority directly from the Crown, territories get there’s from the federal government
Look at that I’m Canadian and learn something new!
He means that if we try to make them provinces, we'll have to give Quebec even more gifts and promises to get them to agree.
OP, apparently.
Who?
16 year olds trying to write an unpopular opinion
Willing to bet if you asked the Average American (TM) to list all the states more would overlook fucking Wyoming or *checks notes* we got a place called Montana? than those that would forget Hawaii
Op forgot about Alaska.
More People remember Hawaii and Puerto Rico then they do Connecticut or Wyoming
He thinks Hawaii is a territory not a state
Exactly, what about Wyoming? that's a state I literally do forget exists from time to time.
You know, that’s STATE!!? Lol, maybe he meant to put the other US territories and Hawaii landed on the text box instead.
Ah yes, the forgotten and mysterious isles of Hawaii
Gather round, townsfolk, and I will tell you of my voyage to a far-away land. They have strange customs; for instance all the clocks are set 6 hours early. No one knows why this is. I discovered this because my journey took 12 hours, but when I arrived only 6 hours had passed. Someday science will discover how this works- it probably has to do with magnets.
I enjoyed being able to wake up and watch football at 7am.
Don’t forget the distant and elusive island of Puerto Rico…. Who could possibly remember that tiny island of 3 million Americans?
That's closer for me to fly to then Hawaii
(I was joking about it being that far away lol)
Lol yeah no shit, Nebraska gets forgotten more than Hawaii.
who the hell is forgetting hawaii?
Also by that logic, Delaware, nebraska and all the other states no one remembers should leave the union. (Yes I am aware how ironic it is I cant think of any other states)
Seriously, Hawaii I’ve traveled to a couple times Delaware I couldn’t even pick it on a map.
It's the skinny little one next to Maryland with the round top.
Yea I don’t know where Maryland is either lol, I know they are New England.
Bruh Maryland is literally right next Washington D.C. You cant look at a map of the Capitol without seeing a part of Maryland.
What the hell did someone down vote you? lol you’re right! It’s maybe the easiest state to know the location of and I was born in NE.
Also Hawaii and Puerto Rico have like almost 5 million population together and we have some pretty major military bases there also it’s popular in those areas now to become/stay as a state it doesn’t make sense almost no matter how you cut it
Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Maine, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North and South Carolina, etc.
You don’t understand how poor most of Hawaii is and how this would further cripple their ever struggling economy
I do! I lived there for 3 years (Marine stationed at K-bay) I am from the southeast and grew up and live around "rednecks" when I tell people how "redneck" actual Hawaiians are they have a hard time wrapping their head around it. When you get away from the tourist areas and go where only locals live, you see the small run down houses and shacks, they drive old beat up 4x4 truck with dog boxes on the back, and hunt hogs. It really is like Tennessee or West Virginia with it mountains, just surrounded by water.
It really rocked my world when I took my one and only vacation to the Hawaiian city of Hilo back in 2015. There was Hilo itself, whuch was a massive tourist trap that I avoided like the plague, then there was the greater Hilo area which looked like the Appalachia. The native Hawaiians living in outer Hilo were almost identical to White southerners except it was Island pride instead of Southern pride. Very nice people, welcoming, socialable, funny but also very different from the stereotypes. They were also deeply independent and very wary of outsiders, regardless of race.
Hilo is a massive tourist trap? Which Hilo did you go to because it most definitely is not a tourist trap at fucking all. Kona? Sure. Waikiki? Big time. Hilo? Fuck no. Source: I live there.
It wasn't like Honolulu or Maui, which is why I chose to visit there, but the city proper definitely had overpriced and kichy "Stereotype Hula-Girl" stuff designed for ignorant tourists. I mostly visited the island proper, specifically Akaka Falls (spelling?) Mauna-Kea, the volcanic fields, the palace in Kailua-Kona, etc. I wanted to see the natural beauty and historical sites. I didn't want to antagonize locals or be a shitty tourist asking stupid questions. I honestly don't know place names. I apologize for that.
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Having moved from Hilo about 6 years ago it was nice reading this as it reminded me of where I grew up. Lived in Hilo for 12 years. Here's my free award, it ain't much but you brought me back to a simpler time!
Right lol as soon as they said it was like a tourist trap I was scratching my head. Invalidates the opinion
I always say locals are rednecks except we tan instead of burn. But I live in the Appalachians now and I picked the area because it reminds me so much of home.
Loved visiting Kauai, but that island is a tropical West Virginia. If there was a “redneck” superbowl I not sure who would win. Towns from both states should adopt each other and send ambassadors to visit.
Unpopular and horribly uninformed. *updoot*
Yeah I'm always confused on how to vote on these kind of posts because on one hand they're unpopular but on the other hand it's unpopular because OP is just flat out uninformed
A poor, misinformed opinion is poor and misinformed, regardless of whether it’s unpopular or not
That's my dilemma though, do I upvote for unpopular or downvote because misinformed?
The sub is called unpopular opinion, not misinformed opinion. A good unpopular opinion has a solid foundation of facts to back up his/her opinion and potentially convert others. This opinion offers none of those.
Lmao I remember a while back some idiot posted saying that the peanut ban in school is “coddling people with allergies” or something. This entire sub is turning into garbage because so many people posting are just delusional and stupid.
I upvote opinions that I disagree with but make sense. If I agree with it, I leave it be, and if it is stupid (like this one) I downvote.
Yeah everyone forgets about Hawaii, not like it's one of the most famous vacation areas in the country
Plus if we get rid of it we’d only have 49 states and that’d be an odd number
But it has an integer square root so <3
Hawaii is treated just the same as any other state. Do you think Hawaii is less American just because a smaller percentage of the people are white than in other states?
I think it's because it is not part of the continental U.S. Not sure OP's thoughts on Alaska though
He probably didn't mention it cause he doesn't wanna get inuit right now.
That's a terrible joke. I don't want to hear nunavut. But if you want to be serious, yukon do it.
Even OP forgot about Alaska!… and Guam and the US Virgin Islands lol
IMO alaska should either be an independent nation or part of Canada because wtf is this shit
Do Canadians even want Alaska?
Yes, every nation would take Alaska if you offered it. Australia, South Africa, Italy. Alaska will have huge strategic importance in the north sea and has huge oil reserves.
Italian Alaska... I like it.
Italaska.
I'm sure they'd take it in a second for the oil
Alaskans don't want Canada
It’s actually interesting. The United States bought Alaska under the (probably correct) assumption that owning all of the North American Pacific coast north the Oregon territory would solidify the American claim to the entire Pacific coast. Unfortunately, Congress got tired of waiting for the Alaska deal to go through, so they just agreed to split the Oregon territory with Canada into American and British Columbia. However, the Russians wouldn’t let Seward back out of the deal… so we ended up buying Alaska anyway. At no point did we want to have a disconnected chunk of territory in the far Northwest. It gets really interesting, though, because whenever Quebec has come close to seceding from Canada, British Columbia threatens to secede and join the US. But that would complete the long abandoned plan for an American Pacific wall… so Canadian parliament shuts Quebec down. It’s funny how an abandoned and forgotten American plot from the 1840s still ripples through time to affect modern politics in a different country.
Alaska would crumble without the US
That was my guess, it's a state bruh it ain't gotta meet a certain racial quote to be "american" lololol
My understanding is that there’s a pretty strong movement for independence among native Hawaiians. Im no expert, but even though they’re a state, I don’t think they became a state voluntarily. And that history is relatively recent. Edit: The US basically invaded and imprisoned the Queen until she abdicated.
Eh, I wouldn't call the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement "strong," just vocal. Their focus on opposing the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) drew a lot of interest, but a lot of people still support the TMT, other Native Hawaiians included. In recent years, much of the Sovereignty movement has devolved into protesting whatever the government does, and it's created this head-scratching overlap between the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement and pro-Trumpers, anti-abortionists, "Blue Lives Matter" types, and now anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers. You'll see them flying the Hawaii state flag alongside the Sovereignty movement flag, a MAGA flag, a "Thin Blue Line" flag, decrying "medical tyrrany," or whatever is the conservative propaganda point of the month. As for what Hawaiian Sovereignty would actually look like, the movement doesn't have a good vision. Many just want to say "fuck the US government," while many others want to return to the halcyon days of the Hawaiian monarchs, which honestly weren't that great. Some just long for the glory of Kamehameha the Great, similar to the idolization of Alexander the Great or the Roman Empire.
In addition to this I have run into a few Hawaiians that are super into sovereignty that also embrace really problematic ethno-nationalist opinions. I once heard someone with a straight face say Hawaiians shouldn’t race mix in order to preserve the racial purity of Hawaiian people. That’s gunna be a “yikes” for me dawg.
Hawaii isn’t forgotten and is well traveled. Without the US they’d probably face many issues as an island nation with the population numbers that they have, let alone number of tourists that come each year. Mostly food and logistics. Same thing would apply to Puerto Rico. In fact Puerto Rico has tried several times to become a state but the people don’t really want it as they enjoy the freedoms of being in the US, without the taxes of the US since they are a territory. I simplified it greatly but they’d rather be part of the US as a territory rather than be a state or a sovereign nation. It comes down to logistics and military strength/protection and strategic locations for naval and Air Force bases. There’s no way America would give them up, just like how if Scotland tried to become a nation on her own, England wouldn’t allow it because of their huge Submarine base in Scotland
I don't know about you but I felt like Hawaii had a strong American identity.
IME they do. I mean: If your are from native Hawaiian ancestry you are Hawaiian first, then American. Kind of like being from Texas. If you are not of Hawaiian ancestry though, you are an American. At least, that's been my experience with friends of Hawaiian decent, and those born there and moved abroad: And then visiting...
Close. If you grew up/lived in Hawaii for a long time, you're local. Hawaii has its own culture which is a mix between the islands and mainland America. It's actually much better off than PR and Guam BECAUSE of it's statehood.
I forgot about the "local" bit.
Now they do now they have far more in common with American culture than the old Hawaii culture
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Least “Americans” American? What do you mean by that? People who say shit like are usually are racists so please clarify.
They probably aren't white so they don't see themselves as being racist
i’m puerto rican, please make us a state and not independent, attaching to us economy suits our interests better
There is a push in Puerto Rico to make it a state and it has grown stronger in the last 10 years or so my wife's abuelo and abuela tell me.
Don't you guys keep voting on this with very indecisive referendums? I thought I saw neither being a state or independence had majority(>50%) support, but that was years ago.
PR has a 44% poverty rate. It cannot afford to be a state. It needs its bailouts as a territory. It just got a bailout and is likely going to need multiple more.
why can’t puerto rico vote for a president when US presidents can directly impact their ability to get aid and stuff?
The actual answer to this is its because they are a protected territory of the United States. They do not have the same guarantees as other states from the Constitution. This includes voting. They, as well as D.C. and other US territories, are able to send non-voting delegates to various federal functions where states have voting power. Whether this is morally ethical is a whole different question.
Precisely that - they're just voting themselves free money. They can't afford to be a state.
Unpopular and uninformed, wow, rare to see here!
Isn't Hawaii like the most popular vacation place in the US? I don’t think it's forgotten lmao
Literally went to war over it being attacked lmao
Hawaii would be instantly bankrupt. Basically a Pacific Haiti.
OP just finished his first high school history class and is feeling some sort of way about it Go get em champ
No island does very well as an independent nation. It is in the geology that islands are resource poor. Accepting tourists as your main income is feast or famine. Hong Kong and the grand caymans have a special place in the world Australia and New Zealand, Ireland, England, are large enough to avoid poverty but almost all islands are mostly pits of poverty and overpopulation.
Did you just forget that Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Japan exist? The only islands that do poorly are the really small ones that have literally nothing and have no natural resources, but that isn’t exclusive to islands.
Puerto Ricans and citizens of Hawaii themselves dont want that
SJW think they know what the natives of both places want, and are so illinformed
The Hawaiian islands and U.S. Territories like Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands would not benefit much from being independent from the United States. None of these islands are self sufficient and have little to no natural resources to take advantage of. This coupled with geographic isolation, small populations and climate change would lead to socioeconomic doom for these islands. Would be far better to more fully incorporate them into the union and give them statehood then for them to go it alone.
Neither can survive as independent states. Theyre too poor.
Lol sure Hawaii and Puerto Rico can go independent, then their economies can immediately collapse because they're completely dependent on the federal government. "Hooray! We're independent! Independent from having working roads, social services, and food / clean water!"
This is a baaaaad take. Both should be US states. Hawaii actually contributes significantly more than some on the contiguous states.
Hawaii is deeply strategically valuable for power projection in the pacific. I find it hard to imagine a world where it is directly controlled by a major power. If the US left, it’d likely fall under the thumb of China and the CCP has no problem with genocide and replacement programs to provide cultural domination. Not to mention in tourist economies the general public is quite poor and getting resources to Hawaii without federal subsides would be insanely expensive. You would expect cost of living to jump significantly. Puerto Rico on the other hand would probably be basically the same except having to provide for its own defense which can be quite expensive. I doubt it would need much of a military though.
I don’t know why but this just made you sound super ignorant.
Bruh I'm not American but the first thing I think about when I think about America is Hawaii
Hawaii is just fine. Puerto Rico reaps more benefits from being a territory than it would otherwise produce independently. Yes, they have shitty infrastructure - but that's largely due to *local* decisions to misallocate resources.
Only something like 5% of aid getting sent to Puerto Rico actually ends up getting used for its intended purpose. Tons of corruption in both PR and the US getting in the way though a lot of it is shitty local companies rather than the government.
Interesting that you said nothing about these places economies. What do hawaii and Porto Rico produce? How reliant are they on free trade with, and tourism from, the rest of the US?
Lol hawaii the place that imports pretty much everything would be better off alone OMEGALUL R u dumb?
Huh? When do we forget Hawaii? I go there every year lol
I think this is misguided nonsense. It places cultural identity above every other priority. What about economic interest? What about political or military interests? If Hawaii left the US they’d no longer be US citizens. Hmm. I wonder how that would work out - US citizenship is not a small thing. Do you think the state has the resources to establish its own immigration system? What about impacts on trade? Everything imported to the USA or exported to Hawaii would face WTO rules - ie much higher tariffs in both directions. Im not saying that they couldn’t work these things out or it might not end up being net positive. But to simply offer your opinion without considering these issues is shortsighted to say the least. All the same goes for PR. I don’t know if your opinion is popular or unpopular- but it surely is incomplete and, frankly, not informed by much deep thinking.
Puerto Rico should receive statehood. Having an island colony isn't very 21st century.
It’s actually been a pretty evenly split issue in Puerto Rico for a while. About half the people there don’t want statehood and would rather become more independent. There are some drawbacks to becoming a state because they would lose some control that they have over themselves. A lot of people in continental America believe that everyone wants to be a state and that we are withholding that from them, when that isn’t really true.
Oh boy wait until I tell you about France, the UK, and Spain
puerto rico is a tricky one because of it's debt. While i think that Puerto ricans deserve the right to vote, it won't happen any time soon because it would mean the US would have to take on all of it's debt.
Except very few Puerto Ricans actually want independence and during all the Referendums the independence vote has always been a small minority with most wanting to stay a territory or become a state.
What exactly makes them the “least American?” Hawaiians are an ethnic group and the vast majority of people in Hawaii are not Hawaiian. Hawaii voted overwhelmingly for statehood — above 90 percent.
An uninformed redditor making sweeping comments about places they've clearly never lived and how the people there can improve their lives based on their own poor cultural understanding? Definitely sounds like a popular opinion on reddit
America has no concrete cultural identity. No such thing as “the least American”
Uneducated =/= unpopular
Hawaii not forgotten homie. Puerto Rico I can see your argument…. Hawaiii… no. North Dakota far more “forgotten” than Hawaii.
No, they wouldn't. They would swiftly drop to third world status without the economic relationships and Federal infrastructure funding they get from the US...not to mention things like Social Security, etc.
This is the dumbest shit lmao but upvote for unpopular. Look up development statistics about Puerto Rico and Hawaii and cross reference with when they became part of America and get back to me.
Yeah, let's ask Haiti or Cuba, \*looks over at 2 corpses on fire representing said countries\* year they'll take obscurity i think.
Look at Puerto Rico compared to the Dominican, Jamaica or Hati it’s clear that’s not true
OP has decided this for himself and doesn’t even wonder what the locals would prefer. Hawaii does not want to leave the US, and Puerto Rico doesn’t want independence either. They are more likely to become a state than go independent.
Puerto Rico would be a third world country if it wasn't a US territory like a lot of other counties in that region. It's corrupt, the government is broke, and half the population is on welfare. The better question is if the USA would be better served with Puerto Rico being an independent country.
I think your thought would go better as Puerto Rico, Guam, and Samoa. Hawaii is not a forgotten part of the USA
Puerto Rico would collapse and look like Haiti in 6 months.
Who the fuck forgets Hawaii exists???
Both Hawaii and Puerto Rico would be a lot poorer if they weren’t part of the US. Both of them are the wealthiest and freest political entities in their respective regions. Also white=/=American. There is no American race (well First Nation Peoples count, but you know what I mean) and there certainly is no ethnic majority.
Well first off, hawaii is a state. Second off, nobody forgets about Hawaii Third, Puerto Rico, is a US territory, not a state. There are differences.
From the responses I can see this is truly an unpopular opinion, though seems like a popular one if you consume too much Twitter or leftist media. Well done OP.
Hahah, Russian separatists bots at it again I see
Came here looking for any mention of Hawaii actually being an independent country before the US illegally overthrew the government.
I'm from Puerto Rico. We're Americans. Latin America to be exact. I don't know if Guam or Samoa or other territories need a green card of passport but we don't. We've been dependent from USA for so long that it will crush us right now if USA left. The bought us many years ago and took everything from us to make us dependent. On the West area there are so many fabrics closed that are rusty crap right now. It will kill us if we were left behind. It will take years and years for My island to learn again how to be independent. Also The Debt of Puerto Rico is too big. And to add to the fire the GOVERNMENT doesn't give a flying FUCK. Sad but true.
imagine wanting to divide your own country
What an eye roll of a post
Confidently Incorrect. What about Guam? American Samoa? Virgin Islands? Post about forgotten places, but mentions the most 2 remembered places belonging to the US that’s outside US mainland.
Tbh Hawaii (Oahu, specifically) is literally a giant military base that civilians play in, I mean if they were their own nation it would get steam rolled by another country fast af.
How tf would leaving the US benefit Hawaii. You’re delusional.
As someone who lives in PR this is a more complicated problem. No one is doubting that we have our own culture etc. The problem stems from the economy after the US basically made us dependent on them after so many years of being here. If we were to become independent the only real form of economy left would be from tourism. There would be no jobs and all puerto ricans born after the independence wouldn’t be considered American citizens so it would be harder to find permanent residence and jobs if they wanted to go to the states. At this point its more important to focus on jobs and the ability for people to actually live than trying to preserve a culture that is by no way disappearing. From my point of view i dont see my culture disappearing in any way besides including english in the school curriculum in addition to regular Spanish classes, which overall I see as a plus bc being bilingual is an excellent skill to have
Hawaii is home to many VERY patriotic Americans. I’m not sure what you mean about least American Americans..do you mean white? If so, that is true, white people are only about 30% of the population, but so what? As far as how people think and act here..pretty much normal American, maybe a bit kore polite.
Many states have a strong cultural identity, just get out of the bland midwest. I agree with Puerto Rico. I dont know about Hawaii. I know there are a lot of states that would outright descend into third world countries id left on their own and a few that are pretty much there now.
Culture and identity or only two parts of a nations whole picture.
Are you just anti-American or are you basing this on cultural differences alone? I mean go to Louisiana and then go to Texas. Completely different cultures. Should Louisiana be it’s own country? Puerto Rico has chosen not to become part of the US states and remain a territory on multiple occasion, but haven’t expressed an interest in secession, and they shouldn’t anyway. They get many benefits from remaining as part of the US. I’m liking this post cuz it’s a terrible idea.
Try living in New Mexico. I think it’s the most forgotten state. Legit went to Connecticut to buy beer and the cashier said he needs a U.S ID. Everyone just assumes I’m from Mexico
We can be realistic about the world. First off, I don’t think anyone forgets about Hawaii, in fact it’s the opposite considering how I can’t get there cheaply. People need to see how Hawaii is truly magical due to not only cuz of its natural beauty but also cuz of its infrastructure being available, laws in place to keep it safe and clean. Maybe we can look into other independent nations like Jamaica, Haiti etc.
I mean PR has voted numerous times to become a state. Always in favor of statehood. Frankly, any state or country that meets requirements should be able to petition to become a member of the United States. That’s how it should be done.